Venus Infrastructure And Developers Private Limited Vs DCIT (Gujarat High Court)
The case concerns a writ petition challenging the validity of a notice issued under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for reopening the assessment for Assessment Year 2016–17. The petitioner, a company engaged in construction and real estate development, had originally filed its return of income claiming deduction under Section 80IB(10) for a housing project named “Venus Parkland.” The return was processed under Section 143(1), and no scrutiny assessment was conducted.
Read SC Judgment in this case: SC Upholds Quashing of Reopening as Based on Overturned Earlier Disallowance
For an earlier Assessment Year 2012–13, the Assessing Officer had disallowed the same deduction on the ground that the project was not completed within the prescribed time limit. However, this disallowance was overturned by the Commissioner (Appeals) in 2019, who allowed the deduction in favour of the petitioner. The Revenue’s appeal against this decision was dismissed by the Tribunal in 2021.
Despite this, the Assessing Officer issued a notice under Section 148 dated March 31, 2021 to reopen the assessment for AY 2016–17. The reasons recorded for reopening relied on findings from the earlier assessment year, alleging that the project was not completed within the required timeline and that certain eligibility conditions under Section 80IB(10), including allotment restrictions and maintenance of separate books of account, were violated.
